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Mechislovas ReynisBishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Lithuanian statesman and religious figure, scientist-psychologist.
Country:
 Lithuania |
Content:
Early Life and Education
Mečislovas Reinys was born on February 4 or 5, 1884, in the village of Madagaskaras in Lithuania. He was ordained a Catholic priest and attended the Vilna Catholic Theological Seminary and the Imperial Catholic Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg. Reinys also earned a Master's degree in philosophy in 1912.
Academic and Diplomatic Career
During World War I, Reinys served as a military chaplain. After the war, he taught at a gymnasium in Vilna and became a professor at the Vilna Theological Seminary in 1916. He was also a professor of psychology at the University of Lithuania in Kaunas from 1922 and a co-founder of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
From 1925 to 1926, Reinys served as Foreign Minister of Lithuania as a representative of the Christian Democratic Party.
Bishop of Vilna
In 1926, Reinys was appointed titular Bishop of Tiddi and coadjutor Bishop of Vilkaviškis. He published extensively on psychology, ethics, theology, and pedagogy, including a monograph on "Problems of Racism" in 1939.
In 1940, after the Lithuanian capital was moved to Vilnius, Reinys became the Auxiliary Bishop of Vilnius. After the deportation of the archbishop in 1942, he became the Apostolic Administrator of Mogilev and Minsk.
Imprisonment and Death
In 1947, Reinys was arrested and sentenced to a prison term, which he spent in the Vladimir Prison. He died in Vladimir on November 8, 1953. His name is inscribed on a memorial plaque commemorating repressed priests in the Catholic church in Vladimir.
